Nancy Waters, the Democratic nominee for Muskegon County clerk, spent the most money during the primary campaign — $21,717.

The Aug. 5 primary election was the busiest in local memory, with several dozen candidates facing off for their parties' nominations for Muskegon County offices.

But from a campaign spending point of view, it was pretty ordinary, with most candidates investing sums between $1,000 and $10,000.

There was one big exception. Nancy Waters, the Democratic nominee for Muskegon County clerk, spent a whopping $21,717 during the primary campaign spending period, more than twice as much as any other candidate running for county office.

The runners-up in the spending derby were Jeff Hepler, who won the Democratic primary for county drain commissioner ($10,545), County Treasurer Tony Moulatsiotis, who won the Democratic nomination for a second term ($9,188), and Al Swanson, who failed in his bid to upset Prosecutor Tony Tague in the Democratic primary ($9,053, including "in-kind" expenditures).

MUSKEGON COUNTY PRIMARY DOLLARS

* Denotes candidates who did not file primary campaign finance reports because they expected to raise and spend less than $1,000.

The Chronicle recently surveyed financial disclosure forms filed by candidates for Muskegon County offices in the Aug. 5 primary. The survey included only those candidates who had opponents in the primary election.

None of the local candidates for higher offices, like state representative or the U.S. House of Representatives, had primary opponents. The Chronicle did not survey spending in township primary races due to the large number of candidates this year, and the nominal amounts they generally spend.

Waters, who is expected to have a very competitive general election race against incumbent County Clerk Karen Buie this fall, has already spent more money than either candidate who ran for county clerk in 2004.

In that very close 2004 election, Buie, a Republican, spent a total of $19,766 on her entire campaign, while her Democratic opponent, Rebecca McCroskey, spent $16,449. Neither candidate was challenged in the primary that year.

Most of Waters' campaign money came in the form of personal loans to herself.

While the other top spenders in the primary had dozens of small contributors, Waters, president and chief operating officer of Waters Broadcasting Inc., loaned herself a total of $22,300, with one "in-kind" contribution of $400 and one direct contribution of $100.

Much of her spending was for newspaper ads ($2,118), a float used for parades ($2,600), radio ads ($1,060), direct mailings ($2,772), printing ($959) and signs ($5,352).

The payoff for her big investment came in the election results. She outspent Paul Watson, her opponent in the Democratic primary, $21,717 to $4,075, and won the election by a final vote of 8,629 to 3,412.

Waters spent roughly $2.50 for every vote she received.

She said she felt compelled to spend so much on the primary because Watson had the endorsement of the United Auto Workers and a "sizable amount of union money." She said she decided to return most of the private contributions she received and finance her campaign herself.

Waters, a former Muskegon County commissioner, noted that it costs more to run for a countywide office, which has a four-year term, than a county board seat, which has a two-year term and involves a smaller geographic area.

She also noted that the cutoff date for the primary campaign spending period was Aug. 25, nearly three weeks after the election. She said she was already spending money on her general election campaign by that point.

Waters said she doesn't plan to spend as much in the fall, because many of the materials she needs were purchased in the summer.

"The feeling was, we had to spend and buy signs and go door to door in the primary, because if we didn't win that, there would be no opportunity for the general election," said Waters, who narrowly lost her first bid for county clerk in 1976. "Given that, a lot of the materials purchased for the primary can now be used for the general."

While Waters clearly used her campaign war chest to her advantage, money doesn't always guarantee victory in local politics. The primary results in three county commission districts demonstrated that.

In District 7, challenger Mike Prow spent $8,646, easily the most of any county board candidate in any district. But he finished third in the Democratic primary, behind the winner, Charles Nash, and the defeated incumbent, Don Aley.

Both Nash and Aley filed waivers at the beginning of the campaign, saying they expected to raise and spend less than $1,000.

In District 4, challenger Dan Willea spent $2,879, while incumbent James Derezinski filed the less-than-$1,000 waiver. Derezinski won 863-713.

Prow, Swiatek and Willea were all part of a slate drafted by disgruntled county employees who were determined to defeat as many incumbent commissioners as possible. Aley turned out to be their only victim.

While most primary races involved relatively little spending, the post-primary financial disclosure forms demonstrated the ability of some to drop big dollars in the general election, if they choose to do so.

Tague, for instance, spent only $4,589 in the primary, roughly half the amount spent by his challenger. But his political war chest, much of it carried over from past elections, showed a balance of $43,054, a figure that has to be of some concern to Annette Smedley, his Republican challenger in the general election.